Reflection
by Rupert Brown
Summary: Gabrielle reflects upon her life in the aftermath of Xena’s death.


Title: "Reflection"

Serial Segment: 1 of 1

"Type": Mainstream

Rating: G

Subtext No. Subtext? What subtext? Never heard of the stuff. ;-)

Spoilers: "Friend In Need" Parts I and II, AKA: "The Big Series Finale 'Ya Big Dummy!" ;-)

Possible spoilers for "Return of Callisto", "A Family Affair", "Who's Gurkan?"

Continuity Placement: In the immediate days/weeks following "Friend In Need Part II".

Historian's Note: None needed at this time.

Synopsis: Gabrielle reflects upon her life.

Author's Note: None needed at this time.

Archival Permission: Yes. Permission Requested. (Like anyone would want this tripe! ;-)

Disclaimer:

All characters within are the sole property of Studios USA and/or Renaissance Pictures. The use of herein characters is for private use only. No infringement is intended, either expressed or implied. All rights reserved. Copyright 2001.

_**"Reflection"**_

By, Rupert P. Brown

The sun was low on the horizon, like paint on a canvas, it ran its menagerie of colors across the ether. Reds, yellows, blues, purples, and pinks; all manner of shades assaulted the eyes. A birth, a renewal, a harbinger of things to come.

Gabrielle sat watching the sunrise. Her knees drawn up to her chest, she watched the daily miracle unfold. Funny, she thought, at one time she'd never have been up this early to witness it. She used to hate rising at this time, too willing to sleep in. But now she found herself eager to be up, to avail herself of the gentle power the phenomena bestowed. A new day, wiping away the sins of yesterday & cleansing the soul. Yes, now she wouldn't miss a sunrise for anything.

So much had changed, _she_ had changed. She reflected on her life, staring at the increasingly large orb. One never knew what life had in store. She certainly hadn't. Never in her wildest imaginings while back home on the farm had she ever thought her life would have gone the way it had.

Six years, or was it sixty? It seemed like a lifetime ago that she'd first met Xena and began upon the path that eventually led her to where she was sitting.

Xena. The name conjured up a hundred different memories; laughter, sorrow, all rushed unbidden at the mere thought of her friend. Her protector, her mentor, her companion. She was all these things and more. Xena had shown her that life was to be lived, and that what one does in life echoes an eternity.

And now she was dead. She had finally achieved the redemption she sought, the forgiveness she had always denied herself.

And now Gabrielle was alone. The student had become the master, the protectee the protector.

Gabrielle sighed as the sun completed the final leg of its arduous journey and shined once more over the world, giving light where there had been darkness, and chasing away the shadows.

When Xena had found her, Gabrielle had been nothing more than a rosy cheeked farm girl who day dreamed of living the myths she was so fond of hearing. She had since come to learn that myth making tried one's soul at times, and life was not the endless stream of adventure she had thought it to be.

She had come a long way since then, through fire and ice, lies and deceit, heartbreak and despair, but she had persevered, she had survived. Bloodied but not bowed. She had lost so much and seemingly gained little. Her husband, her daughter, her family, her friends, and now Xena. Gone.

Gabrielle rose, stretching as she did so, listening to the various 'snaps' and 'crackles' of her protesting body fade into the calliope of sound that now washed over her.

The birds in the trees began their day by welcoming the coming of the sun in their own amusing way of cheeps and whistles. The world had begun anew, and with it a sense of purpose in all its creatures.

Gabrielle strained to listen beyond the sounds. There, in the brush, a fox started upon its daily quest for food, hoping to chance upon some poor unsuspecting beast. While it was the nature of things, Gabrielle hoped it would go hungry this day all the same.

There, up in the sky, nearly kissing the sun itself, a hawk gave vent to a cry. Powerful, sleek, the predator sought out its nourishment as well. It too Gabrielle did not wish luck.

And over there a squirrel, storing away a cash of nuts it would promptly forget about. The thought brought a smile to the bard's lips.

Everything was as it should be, as it only could be. It was a time of new beginnings for all things. Her, the animals, everything. A time to move on. The world knew it, so did she. So had Xena.

Her friend had taught her much. 'But what good is learning something if it is never used?' She had been told. And now she would have to use what she was taught. Sink or swim. Regardless, she was now 'in the drink'.

Fear, fatigue, remorse and release welled up inside her. She had to carry on, there was nothing else to do. She would go on and continue to try and grope her way to some profound place, some inner peace in which all of one's past mistakes and insecurities melted away into nothingness. A state where all was clear and one's fears vanished.

The path to this place was littered with pitfalls, that Gabrielle knew only too well. One had to endure the stick before one got the carrot. It was an arduous road, but one with a discernable goal at the end, and one that Gabrielle would continue to walk down. Albeit alone.

But nay, not really alone. All that she had learned, all that she was, was forever stored in her heart. And as long as she held it there she could never truly be alone. In her they all lived; her lessons, her friends, everything.

She stood there, gazing out over the world, thinking on what had been and what could be. Today was the first day of the rest of her life, where would she go? That she would go, somewhere, was not in question. Even what she would do faced her with less perplexion. But where, where would she go, where would she start?

Her immediate thought was of home, but then, she no longer had a home. One of the prices for learning the lessons of life.

Why choose at all? Why not let the winds of chance take her where they might? She was no longer bound to anyone or any place. It did not matter where she went, for she was secure in the knowledge of her task, a task placed into her hands upon Xena's passing.

She had grown up and changed in many ways these past six years, and she would do so even more. If there was one constant it was that things are never constant. There would be ups and there would be downs, but ultimately all trails led to the same destination. And whether it be in this life or the next, Gabrielle would follow the path to the end.

"And to all things there is a season..." The bard murmured to herself. Rolling up her bedroll and stuffing it in her travel sack, she was on her way.

'And down the path she did tread,

Where it led, she knew not.

But in not knowing, something was revealed,

That all paths came to an end upon the same foreign weald.'


End file.
